4 ms·

Search for “regenerative agriculture” and “permaculture“. It’s not necessarily something we “lost”. While some ancient farming techniques can be regenerative, e

by tfourb 4y ago

Search for “regenerative agriculture” and “permaculture“. It’s not necessarily something we “lost”. While some ancient farming techniques can be regenerative, exploitative practices have been part of agriculture since its inception. In its modern form, industrialized agriculture is essentially strip mining.

hinkley 4y ago
Symbiotic relationships take things from the other party, but they are repaid in kind. We can't live without eating things, and in our turn we are eaten. That's life. 'Extract' can have a connotation similar to 'exploit' and if you hear anyone talking about 'extractive' in reference to the environment, that's usually the connotation the speaker is after. But 'exploit' and 'extract' can also mean something closer to 'leverage', which I think is generally the sense one associates with a symbiotic relationship. My read on this is that humans get a bad rap because so much of recorded history and popular culture is colonial, and the most efficient conquerors also conquered the land, not just the people. Annual plants transport well, and transplant well. A civilization that survives on walnuts or figs or dates or fish can take land from another tribe and thrive immediately, because neighboring tribes have pretty similar diets and agriculture. But conquering another civilization? More efficient if you can bring your agriculture with you, destroy theirs, and replace it with yours. Even if you leave, that scar will last for generations. Conquest is less effective if you have to assimilate first. Which is not to say that it doesn't work (eg, the Americas) but your competition might get there first. The people with attachment to place were better stewards, but that attachment makes you vulnerable in other ways.

4 ms·

Search for “regenerative agriculture” and “permaculture“. It’s not necessarily something we “lost”. While some ancient farming techniques can be regenerative, e

by tfourb 4y ago

hinkley 4y ago
Symbiotic relationships take things from the other party, but they are repaid in kind. We can't live without eating things, and in our turn we are eaten. That's life. 'Extract' can have a connotation similar to 'exploit' and if you hear anyone talking about 'extractive' in reference to the environment, that's usually the connotation the speaker is after. But 'exploit' and 'extract' can also mean something closer to 'leverage', which I think is generally the sense one associates with a symbiotic relationship. My read on this is that humans get a bad rap because so much of recorded history and popular culture is colonial, and the most efficient conquerors also conquered the land, not just the people. Annual plants transport well, and transplant well. A civilization that survives on walnuts or figs or dates or fish can take land from another tribe and thrive immediately, because neighboring tribes have pretty similar diets and agriculture. But conquering another civilization? More efficient if you can bring your agriculture with you, destroy theirs, and replace it with yours. Even if you leave, that scar will last for generations. Conquest is less effective if you have to assimilate first. Which is not to say that it doesn't work (eg, the Americas) but your competition might get there first. The people with attachment to place were better stewards, but that attachment makes you vulnerable in other ways.